Judge Dredd: Secrets Within
by Doctor Dave
Summary: The Law is not always what it seems. After Peach Trees, Judge Dredd stumbles upon something far worse. When more corrution plagues the Hall of Justice, its up to Judge Dredd and Anderson to stop it. But how can they when they have no allies? Murder, conspiracy, and greed are the culprits.
1. Ch 1 Holding on

The tall steel door clicked and lazily swung open, hitting the plain grey wall behind it. His scuffed, black leather boots dragged against the old wooden floor, and his leather armor creaked when he turned to shut the door. The weary man made his way through the sparse living area and let himself fall into a plain black recliner. Judge Dredds heavy head fell back against its headrest. The blinds had been left closed, so the little sun that peaked through cast faint shadows on the wall.

He pulled his helmet off and let it drop to the floor, a dull thud reverberated in the room and it went unnoticed. The Judge peeled his armor off, piece by piece, and they all in turn clattered to the floor. His head swam with images of Peach Trees and the past days events, when all he wanted was a hot shower and some shut eye. His tired eyes scanned the rooms in his simple apartment, and he was a bit relieved when his annoying servo-robot was nowhere to be found.

Looking down at his black undershirt, he lifted the worn fabric and he examined his wound from a few hours prior. He certainly had been lucky. He winced as he moved wrong and the stitches pulled, causing fresh blood to ooze down his torso. He sighed in aggravation and let his shirt fall back down. He made a mental note to tell Walter to pick him up some more uniform shirts later.

Dredd slowly stood up from the recliner and made his way to the bathroom, carefully peeling off his shirt somewhere along the way, and opened his cabinet which held an impressive amount of medical supplies. A street judge was a tough life, but he couldn't think of anything else he would rather do. He was the law, and because of it, he had received numerous amounts of scars. They littered his body, but it was a price he accepted a long time ago.

Grabbing some nano thread and placing it in an applicator, he pressed it firmly against the angry wound and the machine hissed, closing the wound with expert precision. The stitches tight and set. He leaned against the bathroom counter and applied the applicator to the entrance wound in his lower back and it too hissed, and immediately tightened the stitches, leaving its pristine work. He clenched his jaw and placed the applicator back inside the cabinet. Dredd stared at the mirror, and rubbed his 5 o'clock shadow.

He started thinking about Peach Trees. The mega block that held Ma Ma's Slo-Mo operations. How many citizens did the Ma Ma clan murder, just to save their drug ring? How many Judges did she have in her pocket? Four that he knew, and all four were rightfully dead. But, how many more Judges were crooked? He guessed this is why the Chief Judge wanted that rookie Anderson. She could weed out all of the crooked Judges., making her a great ally, but that would also make her an extremely big target if any Judges found out she was a psychic. He would have to keep an eye out for her if she lasted long.

"Oh Judge Dwedd! You're back! Walter was so wowwied! Synthi-soup should make Judge Dwedd well again!" His annoying, yet bearable servo-robot exclaimed and stiffly waddled away.

Dredd let out another irritating sigh and frowned, slamming the door shut and locking it, so Walter wouldn't annoy him any further. Why on earth he kept him was beyond him, but he wouldn't admit that the wittle wobot grew on him._ A little_. Rolling his eyes, his sore muscles screamed at him, demanding a hot shower, and quickly obliged.

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Walter ran up to Dredd as he walked out of the steaming room, clothed in a pair of comfortable black sweatpants, and a grey muscle shirt, that conveniently stated his name in bold black letters. Dredd frowned and looked down at the front of his shirt, then over to Walter with an irritated look, "Walter, why do you insist on putting my name on all of my clothes?"

"Because, Master! When Walter does laundry, all the wobots will know that Judge Dwedd is my Master! And Judge Dwedd is the best Judge in the whole wide world!" He stated proudly, as oil started leaking in excitement.

Dredd curled his lip in disgust and glared at him, "You get oil on my floor, and you'll be on your way to an auction."

"Sowwy, Master, Walter got excited."

"Yeeah." Dredd said, disapprovingly. _If I ever lose my memory, I sure won't forget my name._

The weary Judge was given a bowl of soup, by his faithful robot, and he drank it on his way to the kitchen, quickly downing it, so he could sleep. Blissful sleep was the only thing on his mind. He set the bowl in the sink and looked over at the door, as he heard a hesitant knock.

Dredd's eyes locked onto his door and he quickly made his way to the living room, where he had dumped his holster. Normally, it would always be somewhere with him for quick access, but his weariness made him complacent. All sleepiness gone, his pupils dilated, and his heart rate quickened as he felt the adrenaline kicking in. Gripping his Lawgiver in his hand, he stood against the wall next to the door, his weapon ready.

"Who is it?" He shouted sternly. He rarely had visitors at his apartment, and most of them were not friendly.

"I-It's me, Sir. Anderson."

Huffing indignantly, he growled, "What do you want?"

He heard a muffled reply and he frowned. He set his Lawgiver down next to the door on the kitchen's bar. In arm's reach if necessary. He swung the door open and glared at her.

He noticed she stood at his doorway, put-off, but determined to talk from the way she glared back. She still wore her uniform, though as usual, her helmet remained missing. _No surprise, _he had dark circles under her eyes, which wasn't unexpected after the day and a half they had. She seemed nervous, and looked back down the hallway, then back at her former assessment officer. He arched one eyebrow and looked at her expectantly.

The new Judge glared back at him. She was a bit taken back at seeing Judge Dredd's face, a rather nice one at that, and quite the build. _Is his name on his shirt? _Anderson mentally shook her head. _Focus. _She had some questions, and a potential problem at hand. The young Judge looked back down the hallway, making sure no one was following her and looked back at him.

"I request to speak with you, Sir." She quickly said, fidgeting with her sling.

"Request Denied." He growled, starting to close the door.

"Official Judge business, Sir." She curtly spoke, and raised her chin up, not budging.

Dredd clenched his jaw and opened his door, letting her in, and slammed it shut behind her.

"Oh Judge Dwedd has a guest! Another Judge at that! Oh, boy, can Walter offer you a hot cup of synthi-caff?" Walter questioned with glee, not waiting for an answer. A steaming cup of coffee was produced, and he handed it to the nice, young Judge.

"Thank you." Anderson smiled, warmly. The hot cup in her gloved hand was quite welcomed.

Walter danced and started whistling a little tune, as he started going on about how great his master was.

Dredd glared and cut his overly enthusiastic robot off, "Beat it."

Walter continued whistling the song and waddled away, finishing up gathering all of Dredd's items he had deposited on the floor earlier that evening.

Anderson looked around his apartment and noticed the lack of personal things. It's walls were gray, and there were windows spread intermittently thorough the apartment. Wooden floors and sparse furniture. It seems her assessor used this place to sleep, nothing more. The more personal touches seemed to come from Walter, a plant here or there, that he seemed to have assigned names. She stared at the robot who walked over to a plant named "Woger" and watered it happily. She smiled.

Cassandra Anderson sensed his rising irritation and turned back toward him, still standing near the front door. She didn't want to intrude too far into his territory, so she leaned on one leg and sipped her coffee before she began.

"I wanted to know why you passed me. I sensed from the start you disapproved of their decision giving me one last chance, but earlier today you gave me back my badge." She said, looking down at her placard on her chest. She seemed to ponder for a few seconds, and then continued. "What changed your mind, Sir?"

He was silent, so she spoke again, "I lost my primary weapon, and I was taken hostage. Already that's an automatic fail." Anderson sighed, "I'm not so sure I'm cut out to be a Judge."

"Judge Anderson, you lost your primary weapon. That is an automatic fail. But you proved to be quite capable, and you were able to reclaim it back without my aid. You dispensed justice appropriately, and aided in taking down an entire drug ring." He paused, then continued, "The most important thing about being a Judge, Anderson, is knowing nothing is more important than the law. Not friends, not family, not even yourself…"

Dredd glanced over at his happy robot and growled, "Not even annoying robots that keep leaking oil on my floor!"

Walter heard Dredd annunciate the last part of his sentence and leaked even more oil as he became nervous, "Oh my! Walter will wipe that up wight away, Master!" The robot produced an old cleaning rag an began backtracking and cleaning up the thick black blobs.

Dredd exhaled and looked back at Anderson, "We are to always uphold the law, walking that thin line between justice and your own personal vendetta. Those four judges in Peach Trees were bought, to bend the law to their will. They were corrupt."

Judge Anderson soaked up everything he had just said, and nodded slowly. "So if I'm to be a Judge, I'm to become permanently cold, and unfeeling? Sir, I can't do that. My abilities require me to think emotionally. To feel people's emotions. Their memories."

Dredd's eyes darkened, and he crossed his arms over his chest, "Every Judge is different, Anderson. Yet, we all adapt to our circumstances. And in this case, its knowing that family and friends are a luxury we cannot have. If your to become a Judge, and stay a true Judge, cut off any ties you have. You'll be better off."

She nodded and looked around again. His apartment made more sense. Functional. Impersonal. Alone. She exhaled heavily. Perhaps that's why everyone thought he was a robot. He portrayed no emotions, no attachments, no personality. Anderson, of course, knew that to be false. He did feel something. Anger, control, and even self-hatred. But, she never delved any deeper than what was hidden away at the surface.

"Keep your abilities to yourself."

Anderson snapped out of her thoughts and her face reddened, she hadn't thought she was trying to read him. "S-sorry, Sir. I wasn't-"

"From the other Judges. Those four weren't the only crooked ones. It's a quick way to make yourself a target. I'm assuming the Chief Judge will want you to investigate all Judges, that is if you choose to embrace this life. It's up to you, Rookie." He said, uncrossing his arms and walking to the door, ending the conversation. Judge Anderson nodded and followed him, stepping out of the apartment. She stopped and turned, facing him.

"I believe I can make a difference, Sir. I just have to hold on to that." She said, in a lower tone.

Judge Dredd stared at her for a few minutes, frowning, then curtly nodded, closing the door.

Anderson heard the door lock and she walked down the dark hallway. The hall turned right toward the elevator, but she stopped in front of a large window and stared up at the sky. Mega City had voted on a cloudy night tonight, and the dark clouds trailed across the sky like long devious fingers, giving the young Judge an ill feeling.

She tipped her head down and stared at the unforgiving city below. Mega City-1, a diseased city, a merciless city. It was rotting from the inside out. Lawbreakers owned the city…temporarily. Her brown eyes hardened, yes, things will be different.

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Judge Dredd shuffled over to his bedroom in the back of his dreary apartment, his Lawgiver in hand. He entered the dark room and unceremoniously dropped on the side of the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The white fan stood still, collecting dust. He closed his eyes and slipped his weapon under his pillow.

Silence. Dredd opened his eyes. He hated the silence. No humming of electronics, no buzzing outside his window from the traffic outside; just plain, and utter silence. He turned on his left side, his uninjured side, and squeezed his eyes closed. His body was exhausted, and his mind was weary, but sleep seemed to come with much difficulty.

He remembered that he had decided to finish the rest of the paperwork tomorrow morning, on the Peach trees incident to get some rest, but that was over an hour and a half ago, and he sighed. His eyes cracked open once more, and he sat up, rubbing his face.

"_I just have to hold on to that."_

The young Judge was still fresh, an enthusiastic mind, and believed that good would always triumph. Judge Dredd new better. With good, must come bad. It was a never ending fight. A healthy balance between two necessary forces. Without it, would come chaos. So, what did** he** have to hold on to?

He had the law. He had Mega-city 1. As long as he had both, he was satisfied. Reaching over to his atomic alarm he set it and laid back down, this time, blissful unconsciousness was quick and welcomed.

**That's a wrap, first Dredd fic. Of course i own nothing! I've read some of the 2000ad comics, and I've seen the new Dredd movie. So, if there's mistakes, I apologize in advance and kindly correct them. I wanted a healthy balance between futuristic technology and our "primitive" lifestyles. Lol Thanks for reading, reviews are always welcomed. Chapter 2, coming up!**


	2. Ch 2 Fosters Fine Jewelry

The air was acrid and hot. Even though Mega-City 1 had a strict pollution and littering law, the city still seemed to feel caustic. Papers fluttered alongside the road as Judge Dredd sat, mounted on his Lawmaster. The motorcycle was quite a beautiful piece of machinery, and well capable for any situation. He gripped the handles, as he peered through his helmet's visor. It thankfully blocked out most of the sun's rays, and his body was sweating underneath the heavy armor. He scowled, "Control, on scene."

"_Affirmative, Judge is on scene."_

His eyes scanned the street and the numerous shops jutted up on the sidewalk. People walked about, hoods up, minding their own business as usual. He dismounted and walked through the various people walking by. It wasn't a very crowded part of town, but at night, the streets were alive with partiers and boozers.

A small crowd gathered around _"Foster's Fine Jewelry", _and the Judge stopped behind them.

"Step aside, citizens."

The gawking people looked behind them and quickly parted so he could get through. He walked into the jewelry store, which was slightly cooler than the outside. Its glass counters were shattered and tables knocked over.

"Judge Dredd! Look at dis, man! Meh whole beezness is en shambles! Not a damn ting taken! What ees the meanin of this?"

Dredd looked at the business owner, a tall black man wearing a fine suit, his long hair in dreadlocks. He had large rings on every finger, and paced back in forth. The Judges eyes went back to the room and looked around. He stepped over a large amount of broken glass and walked behind the counter, taking the scene in.

Mr. Foster grumbled as the Judge said nothing, and he nervously continued his pacing. His dark eyes darted around the room, looking at the judge and the rest of his shop.

This was very odd, Dredd thought. A whole jewelry store, full of expensive jewelry and yet, he claimed nothing was taken. He walked back to the center of the store, careful to not disturb anything, and knelt down, his eyes noticing a small glint underneath a pile of junk cardboard boxes. Dredd lifted the boxes up and cocked his head in curiosity. His gloved fingers picked up a rather large ring. He frowned.

"Is this yours?" He stood up, turning toward Mr. Foster. The gawking citizens stared from outside the entrance to see what the Judge held.

"What ees dat?" Mr. Foster said quietly, staring at the ring. He moved his hand closer to touch it. The store owner licked his lips nervously and started to sweat.

Dredd stepped back, as Mr. Foster invaded his personal space and dropped the ring in an evidence container. It was a large red and gold ring. It was very familiar to the Judge. In fact, it should be to all Judges. They received it after graduating the academy. Only a handful of Judges ever wore them, and out of that handful, most were Judges who had a taste for embellished items, or were fresh on the street.

"I require all video feed from the past six months that you have on the interior and exterior of this building. Will you comply?" Judge Dredd asked, looking back at him.

"Course, Judge. I jus wan dis guy caught!" Mr. Foster exclaimed. He licked his lips again. "Perhaps I should old onto dat ring, Judge, I might have ovahlooked it…"

Dredd ignored the owner once more, "Anyone threatening you or your business?"

"No, man, I have only hoppy customehs." Mr. foster said, smiling. He revealed three golden- capped teeth, and laced his finger together. "Any ideas on who da perpetrator ees?"

"Mr. Foster, as a citizen, you have a right to file a complaint at the Hall of Justice. If you choose to exercise this right, the Hall of Justice will contact you with any information as soon as it emerges. " Dredd stated firmly, placing the small container in a pouch on his belt. He turned around and walked through the broken glass door and the citizens parted ways once again.

"Wait a meenit, Judge! A complaint, man? Dat ees all? Wat about dis mess!" Mr. Foster shouted, his hands pointing to the remnants of his store. He couldn't believe it! His store was destroyed and he expected him to file a complaint! "Wat about da ring? It's my property!"

Dredd stopped and looked at the distraught man. He turned his head and stared at a group of robots that were picking up trash and paving a section of the road across the street. "The construction and clean-up squad is available for your use at any time." He said, and stared at Mr. Foster for sometime, making the store owner unnerved. "As for the evidence, it will be returned, once we clarify its origin."

With that, the Judge walked to his Lawmaster and straddled it, the engine igniting on voice command. His bike roared to life, and he rode away relaying to control he was off scene and heading to HQ.

He needed to get to his office pronto. A vandalized jewelry store, with nothing taken, and a Judges academy ring found at the scene. The whole situation was odd, so for now, he kept everything to himself.

Dredd sped through traffic and pulled into the gated compound of The Hall of Justice. He dismounted his bike, and walked across the paved lot full of Lawmasters, with Judges walking around getting on duty, and coming off. He strode through a secure gate into the entrance of the giant skyscraper that made up HQ.

Climbing up a number of stairs, and up a few elevators, he made it to the floor that held his office and he quickly walked toward his office door, hoping his assistant wouldn't notice.

"Judge Dredd, Those files on Peach trees! They still need to be turned into the Chief! I only have half of them! And those incident reports 5 and 12 haven't been signed, and you have four messages from Chief Hershey!" The brunette exclaimed, pushing her black rimmed glasses farther on her nose.

She quickly got up from her chair as he said nothing, and tried evading her, but she blocked his getaway, "Sir, a-and that's not all!"

Dredd frowned and sighed angrily, resting his hands on his hips. He listened to his assistant ramble on about how he was causing her to have a mid-life crisis because of his poor paperwork habits. That's why he was assigned an office assistant anyway. The Chief made it clear that paperwork was a necessary evil and there was no escaping it. Not even The Judge Dredd could escape it. It all still applied. So, he got himself an assistant to do the majority of it. Apparently, she couldn't manage her menial, non-hazardous job of paper filing.

There were four Judges offices on each office floor, and in turn, four assistants. The interns slouched in their chairs, busying themselves with filing, signing, printing, etc. making it look like they were busy, when in reality, each one was eavesdropping on their conversation. The assistants would always have their lunch break together and it wasn't the first time that poor Jessica Shoker had to pester and pull teeth out of Judge Dredd to get one little paper out of him.

"Ms. Stoker-" Dredd began, but was quickly interrupted.

"I-it's Shoker, Sir. Jessica Shoker. I've been your assistant for six months now…" She stammered, still blocking his office door. She walked toward him with papers in her hand, "And Chief Hershey sent these back, they didn't have footnotes, and you forgot the claim numbers at the top of half of them."

Judge Dredd felt the beginnings of a headache, and snatched the papers out of Shokers hands. The young assistant stepped aside quickly, and raised a finger in the air, "One more thing, sir! The Chief Judge wants to see you!"

The door slammed shut before she finished her sentence, and the blinds shut in a very angry fashion. Shoker looked around the office and sat down, straightening out her blouse and pushed her glasses once again, up onto her nose. She exhaled sadly and looked up at the office clock. "Six more hours…"

Inside his office, Dredd tossed the pile of papers to the corner of his desk. He would deal with them later. Though, it seemed when he said that, he tended to forget about them. He sat down in his office chair and he pulled the ring in the container out of his belt, and set it down on his desk. The computer turned on by his voice activation and he touched the screen, looking into controls database.

First, he wanted to know who had been at the jewelry stores location in the past month on duty. That would be a sensible place to start. He leaned back in his chair and let the computer skim through data entries. He stole a glance at the pile of papers for Peach Trees on the floor and clenched his jaw.

Snatching them up, Dredd stared at them. For one instant he felt compelled to finish them, but as soon as he touched the paper, it was as if all determination at an attempt to do it, was sucked out of him. He grit his teeth and reached over his desk for a pen, slowly clicking it.

Half an hour later, he finished the last of the Peach Tree papers and chunked his pen down on the desk. He looked up to the screen, and noticed Mr. Fosters video feed had in fact been handed over and there were three entries on the screen from controls database. He touched the screen, as it produced the original radio report, and it showed three different Judges had been in that store.

**Fosters Fine Jewelry: 454 Harden St W **

**Call#278564 **

**Time:**** 13:00**

**Report****: Robbery in progress. **

**Responding Judge:**** Judge Juarez**

**Call#3478564**

**Time:**** 2315**

**Report:**** Homicide**

**Responding Judge:**** Judge Sanchez**

**Call#657243**

**Time****: 1242**

**Report:**** Burglary**

**Responding Judge:**** Judge Dredd**

_Interesting._

For three judges to be at the same location in the past month, was unheard of. In all of Mega-city 1, they could only report to 6% of crime reported. And no less than three judges seemed to have stumbled on the same location in one month. He tapped the screen and minimized that window, opening the video database. He pressed a key and Mr. Foster's video feed to his jewelry store played on the screen.

He stared at the screen as the footage played. He would fast forward, rewind, pause, play; and took note on some curious things. On the day that Mr. Fosters jewelry store was robbed, Judge Juarez responded to the call. He watched the video closely as he fast forward it, and from what he could tell from the time stamp, it was a few days later that the homicide occurred. The video seemed to glitch for a second and then Judge Sanchez emerged on the video, responding to the call. They interacted, and the body was taken away. He fast forward it to today, and no glitches were seen as he saw himself appear on the screen.

_Even more interesting._

The Judge told the computer to reverse the video, and stopped it to just before the glitch. The time was stamped 23:00, then the glitch, then the time appeared at 21:15.

Dredd closed that window and opened up the departments database to claims and read all the claims on _Fosters Fine Jewelry, _and found none.

He rubbed his slightly stubbled chin and stared at the screen. Apparently Mr. Foster had not wrote any claims whatsoever. Every citizen is required to make a claim for homicide or any felonies committed on their property for record keeping and backtracking reasons. If it's a lesser crime, than its up to the citizen if they wish to make a claim, but if a felonies committed and a claim was not made, that itself is punishable for six months iso-cubes.

Perhaps he needed a chat with Mr. Foster again. He told the computer to erase the history and shut off. It shut down and he stared down at the simple ring, and his thoughts wandered.

Burglar breaks into the store, that day Judge Juarez responds. Three days later, homicide. Judge Sanchez responds, and there's a glitch in the video feed. Someone was covering up something, and Judge Dredd was going to get to the bottom of it. He rubbed his jaw again and looked at all of the paperwork.

Dredd scooped up the Peach Tree papers and shuffled them into a neat pile, stacking them to his left. He re-typed up the paperwork that the Chief sent back with a loud red pen scribbling over all of the mistakes apparently she claimed he made. **Not organized, Need footnotes, failed to write claim numbers**, littered his paperwork. He frowned and pounded on his keyboard and printed the new documents.

An hour passed when he was finally finished. Dredd stacked the papers neatly in a pile and seemed satisfied. He thought for a moment, and then reached over for his stapler. He started stapling papers to their respective papers meticulously. Then took labels, and wrote the claim numbers on the labels and stuck them onto each paper. He shoved each packet of papers in individual sleeves, and then ripped open his desk drawer to find manila folders, and crammed each sleeve into a manila folder. Dredd then took the pleasure of rooting around in his desk for some stick-ez tape, and taped the folders on all sides.

To think she thought he wasn't organized. Judge Dredd was finally satisfied with the paperwork. He swiped the container that held the ring into his hand and replaced it in his belt.

Grabbing the pile of manila folders and the papers left from Peach trees, he opened his door, and walked out into the open room and plopped the Peach tree paperwork on Shokers desk.

"Here's the rest of yesterdays paperwork, I'm heading over to the Chief's office. When you're done, I want you to pull the files you have on Fosters Fine Jewelry. Keep it to yourself." He muttered, and quickly walked off toward the elevator.

"Oh wait Judge Dredd, what about Incident report 5 and 12?"Shoker stood quickly, but his retreating form had already disappeared inside the elevator.

"Oh my…" She exasperated. She dropped back in her seat and frowned. "Four more hours…"

And, heres the second chapter! Reviews are lovely! You should send one my way. Id like to hear feedback! Third chapter is on the way.


	3. Ch3 You're the psychic

The elevator came to a stop, and its door slid open, allowing Judge Dredd to make his way toward his destination, as he kept a tight grip on the large pile of paperwork. His mind was furiously trying to piece the mystery he had stumbled upon earlier that afternoon, and now the Chief was pestering his assistant about wanting to see him. This usually never ended well. Dredd frowned and walked down the hall.

Chief Judge Hershey. In the past, she had been his partner, and they had worked together often. Mutual feelings of respect were shared between the two, and from that, a sort-of friendship was made. In his opinion, she was one of the best Chief Judges they had ever had. Though, she was quite the stickler when it came to documentation. _" Proper documentation is just as important as proper sentencing."_

He walked into a room that held two fresh judges, and they looked up from their computers, at the senior Judge. As he approached the Chief's office, one of the Judges stood and abruptly blocked his way.

"Sorry, Sir! The Chief's busy at the moment-"

The younger Judge was cut off when he was roughly pushed to the side. Dredd didn't have time for this. The Judge fell back in his chair and looked over at the other Judge, who sat there and stared down at an interesting piece of paper on his desk.

Dredd barged into Chief Hershey's office, and saw her sitting at her desk, papers in hand, speaking into a voice box on her desk. Her blue eyes flicked up at him, and she smirked, "Never mind, Ms. Shoker, he's arrived." the box clicked off.

Chief Hershey set her papers down and leaned back in her chair, letting her short, black hair frame her pale face. She was surprised when Dredd suddenly plopped a large pile of taped files in front of her. Her eyebrows raised as she picked a file up and examined it. "A little overkill, don't you think?"

Judge Dredd stood there and crossed his arms, "You didn't request to see me about my paperwork, what do you need?" Though inside, he was rather satisfied at her reaction, and he hoped that would keep her off his back for awhile.

Hershey sighed, and laid the file back down. She stood up and walked over to the window where she often looked upon Mega-City 1. "You did well with the rookie, Dredd."

He stared at her, unimpressed with the compliment.

"You're already aware of her abilities, and from what little I could make out from your reports, you say she could be a good Judge." She continued, staring at the city below, the gears in her mind turning.

He ignored her barb and replied, "Like I said, Chief, what do you need?"

The Chief turned toward him, looking at him squarely, "I'm opening a full investigation into every single Judge in Mega-City 1."

Dredd nodded slightly, his earlier suspicions confirmed. Leave it to Hershey to open the mega can of worms. That's why he respected her so much. She didn't have a political agenda. She did whatever it took to uphold the law, like him.

"I'm assigning Judge Anderson to you, whether you like it or not. She's a prime target for Judge's dipping out of lawbreakers' pockets." Hershey stated, her hands resting on her hips as she watched Dredd's frown deepen. "I need a Judge I can trust, Dredd. This investigation is going to get messy, and many of these Judges are not going to lay down quietly. Anderson could be the key to cleaning up the corruption."

Dredd's gloved hands rested on his own hips. He had been debating whether he should let the Chief in on his own little investigation, and he still felt hesitant. Their goals were ultimately the same, but he listened to Hershey continue.

"The Judges are fighting a losing battle, and they know it. They're turning their back against the law, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, and I refuse to turn a blind eye." she said, her eyes hardening, and she looked back at the bustling city beneath her. She crossed her arms.

"The investigation starts tomorrow. Judge Anderson is assigned to you as of now, and you two are to stay together until this investigation concludes. Both of you will report here tomorrow at 08:00.

"Very well." He said roughly, and was about to turn and leave when he looked back at her. He clenched his jaw, and decided to tell her. "In that case, Fosters' Fine Jewelry might interest you."

The Chief turned back to him, squinting her eyes in confusion, but nodded absently. She didn't need Judge Dredd to spell it out for her. If he thought something was important, she would make time to check it out.

"By the way, since you and Anderson are supposed to be on desk duty until your injuries heal, and I know for a fact, you two have already been out on the street today, you'll save me a lot of grief if you just take level 3 calls."

He scoffed, and walked out. "Not a chance."

She watched him leave her office, and she stared out at the young Judges who sat outside her office. It was going to be messy indeed.

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Dredd walked back down the hallway, and pointed to Judge Anderson who was standing and talking to another Judge.

"Anderson, you're with me." He growled.

Judge Anderson's short blonde hair whipped around, and she watched as her former assessment officer walk past her. She looked back at Judge DeMarco, and gave her an apologetic look, "Duty calls."

Judge DeMarco's full lips pouted and watched Anderson run to catch up to Judge Dredd. She huffed and crushed the bit of jealousy that started to creep up. She knew relationships were forbidden for Judges, but it wasn't against the law to have a crush. She looked up at the clock and noted the time.

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJD JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJD JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJD

Dredd frowned his iconic frown. He preferred working alone, but for the sake of the future of The Hall of Justice, he would set his feelings aside. Judge Anderson could handle her own, he had witnessed it in Peach Trees, she was indeed quite capable, but that still didn't mean that he was thrilled to have her as a partner.

They walked out of the building and out into the gated lot. The temperature had dropped a little, and the air wasn't so hot around them, but they could feel their bodies start to sweat again under the suns rays. It would only last a few hours, for the day was coming to a close, but it still didn't help them now.

Dredd swung his leg over his bike and made sure to inspect it for any discrepancies. The robots that worked in the repair shops weren't always so mechanically inclined, and well, why open yourself to trouble? Once he was satisfied, the bike roared to life and he looked over at his new partner.

"Where to, Sir?" She asked, touching her bikes screen, fiddling through the database full of calls.

"The apartment buildings, I have to drop something off." He muttered, as he double-checked to make sure the pouch on his belt holding the ring was secure. He decided he was going to keep the ring in his apartment, in a safe place. It was key evidence in something big, his gut told him, and he wasn't about to take any chances.

Anderson nodded and shook her hair from her face before slipping her helmet on. She decided to take it this time, just in case another Peach Trees incident happened. If she really needed to use her abilities she could just take it off.

"Helmet today, huh?"

"I figure a bullet would interfere more with my abilities than my helmet." She replied, sheepishly.

"No kiddin?" He stated dryly. _She's learning._

They rolled out of the gated premises and made their way around the other side of HQ, where the apartment building were situated. He came to a stop in front of the steps to the entrance, and Anderson followed suit.

"Wait here." he instructed, and stepped off the Lawmaster.

Judge Anderson watched him walk up the steps and disappear into the building. She was curious as to why she was working with him. Hadn't she passed her assessment? Dredd had told her she did, but was she required to do another?

She pursed her lips and sighed loudly. She decided to ask him when he came back after doing whatever it is he had to do. Shift wasn't over for another hour and forty minutes, and they usually weren't aloud to return back to their quarters until they were off duty.

Her curiosity had gotten the better of her earlier, and she knew something had been troubling him. Determination and confusion clouded his mind and she wanted to look deeper, but wisely resisted. She licked her dry lips, and looked around at the busy streets. All the citizens were starting to walk home from work, the ones at least that were employed, and vehicles buzzed by in a hurry to beat the traffic.

She certainly hoped the rest of the day would be much better than the last time she was with him. That had turned out to be a real nightmare. They had a little less than two hours left on duty, what could really go wrong?

As if on cue, a large explosion detonated from the third floor and glass shattered, sprinkling down on the pavement. The blast had knocked her off of her Lawmaster, and she brought her arm up, instinctively shielding her face. She brought her arm back down only to see her partner land on the concrete, rolling a few feet into the street.

Plumes of smoke wafted from the wreckage and flames licked the building. Anderson crawled from underneath her bike, and hurried over to him, steadying herself at the same time.

"Sir? Can you hear me?" She shouted, her senses on high alert. She quickly surveyed the area, and grabbed his shoulder.

Dredd groaned and brought his arm up as she touched him. He stiffly sat up and blinked his eyes several times behind his visor. He looked around, and all he could hear was a high-pitched ringing sound. He felt as if everything had slowed down, like he took a hit from a Slo-mo inhaler. He moved his right arm to aid him in standing when he felt a searing pain shoot through his shoulder and chest. He inhaled sharply, and pain erupted from his right side causing him to see stars. He clenched his jaw and blinked a few more times.

He never forgot the pain attributed to shoulder dislocations and broken ribs. He'd had those injuries plenty of times, and was quite thankful that's all he sustained from the blast. Soot covered his armor and he wiped away some of the grime on his face.

Gathering himself, he stood and looked up toward the blast, feeling for his belt. The container was still safely nestled in the pouch, and he made his way over to his bike. His muscles screamed as he knelt down, and he groaned as he pulled his bike up from the road. His vision clouded, and he stopped for a few seconds until it cleared.

His Lawmaster looked rather unharmed, but Anderson's didn't fair as well as his. Her front tire had been shredded and the bike's structure was slightly lop-sided.

"Sir, What happened?" She asked, ditching her useless bike, and she helped him steady his.

Dredd could still hear ringing, but it wasn't as bad as before. His legs felt like lead, but managed to mount his bike without delay. "Get on." He growled.

There was a large cloud of fury surrounding him, and he tensed his muscles. He was out for blood.

Anderson felt the large waves of fury crash into her like 500 foot waves. His anger was palpable and she thought for good reason. Something big was going on, and she was determined to find out.

She left the questions for later and she quickly climbed on the back, curling her arms around his waist. She felt a bit awkward holding her superior officer like this, but quickly pushed those feelings aside. What was she going to do, hitchhike back to HQ? She felt the bike peel out and a thousand questions were invading her mind about the explosion. Cars whizzed by as the bike shifted into a higher gear and Dredd expertly weaved through traffic.

"What's going on?" She demanded.

Dredd clenched his jaw hard, causing his teeth to ache. A thousand more questions were popping up, and he had almost no answers. His anger rose and it didn't help when Anderson kept asking questions. He thought about keeping her in the dark about his latest find, but thought twice. He was for certain that whoever lost that ring was wanting it back, and certainly didn't think twice about murder to get it. She would be at a disadvantage if he didn't tell her. He sped over to the next lane.

Judge Dredd slowed the bike down a touch so Anderson could hear him, "Earlier this afternoon, a jewelry store was hit, vandalized and destroyed, but nothing was taken. I found a ring at the scene that didn't belong in the store. Apparently, I found something that I shouldn't have."

Judge Anderson sighed. _Didn't he always do that_? "A ring?"

"An academy ring. I was looking in records, and two other Judges had appeared there earlier this month. The video logs that the owner had were tampered with. So whoever wants this ring, doesn't want me to find out what they're hiding. We have a few hours before they realize I'm still alive. I want to find this bastard before then." He said, accelerating and driving through a small space between traffic.

"So I take it that's where were headed." She said more to herself than to him

"You're the psychic."

Anderson rolled her eyes. Like she never heard that before. That's what her instructors at the academy would always say, and it was rather annoying. Just because she had these abilities didn't mean she could just predict the future, or know the forecast. Heck, people voted for the weather! Her psychic abilities meant she could delve into the sick minds of psychopaths and crack them without saying a word, she could read people's minds, speak to them, and feel their most terrifying experience, or their most exhilarating.

Anderson tightened her grip around Judge Dredd's waist as the bike lurched around a maintenance crew of fix-it bots. One robot walking on the sidewalk caught her eye in particular, and she let a small smile appear. The robot whistled happily and greeted his fellow bot as he waddled by with a laundry basket in his long metal arms.

At least Judge Dwedd still has Walter, she thought wryly.

**So the ball's rolling now. I've only read Judge Dredd: complete case files 1, that's how far my comic knowledge goes at this time, so if the mistakes are terrible, kindly tell me and I shall remedy it later. More action is soon to come! Reviews are lovely and welcome! **


	4. Ch 4 Compensation

The sun was starting to lower in the sky. The air was cooler as the two Judge's sped through the bustling street's, and the bike started to slow as they leaned right and pulled up onto the paved sidewalk. A couple of citizen's leapt out of the way, throwing dirty looks at them. Trash blew across the sidewalk as the wind kicked up, and people walked quickly to get home before it got dark.

Anderson wished they could call control, have them send back-up so they weren't on their own like last time, but she knew that to be unrealistic, and just a plain bad idea. No Judges could be trusted. It was just herself and Judge Dredd. _Once again…_

Why was she always in this situation? Technically, this was her second call, and again, Dredd managed to get into trouble. She started to feel like she was partnered with him as a punishment, to make sure she failed. It seemed her superior officer couldn't respond to one call without getting into a sticky situation. Anderson knew life as a Judge was brutal, but being in arm's reach of the man was ridiculous. Strangely, even though she knew very well he could take care of himself, she still felt compelled to have his back. To protect him.

They parked a few feet away from the store and dismounted their Lawmaster that was looking a bit worse for wear. The two judges probably looked worse. Their armor was covered in grime, singed, and had the not-so alluring odor of acrid tar. Dredd looked around scanning the crowd for any suspicious activity, holding his right shoulder. It had been dislocated in the explosion, and he was constantly reminded every time he felt a searing white pain shoot through it. Not to mention, the broken ribs he had acquired during his graceful landing, but nothing could be done about that now. Anderson met his gaze through her visor and already she knew what he wanted done. She nodded, surprising him, and firmly took hold of his right arm.

He kicked himself mentally, forgetting Anderson was a psychic. How he seemed to think she was a normal person, was beyond him. If she had been normal, they both would have died in Peach Tree's, and they wouldn't be in the position they were in now. She could read minds and predict the weather or something along those lines. He actually wasn't informed on the extent of her abilities, and made a mental note to ask her later. In the meantime, his dislocated shoulder had been screaming at him to be re-located.

She rolled her eyes as she heard Dredd say something in his mind about her predicting the weather and, gripped his arm even tighter, "This is going to hurt." She warned.

"Just get it over-" He was interrupted by a sharp, white pain searing through his chest and shoulder, and he felt like wanting to destroy Anderson for not letting him prepare, but grunted loudly instead. Once he took a few deep breaths, or at least as deep as he could with his broken ribs, he swatted her hands off of him and collected himself. Judge Dredd did not show weakness.

"You're welcome." She said, dryly, and smirked. Dredd frowned and unholstered his primary weapon. Anderson, copied him and followed, and they made their way to the dilapidated jewelry store.

"Foster's Fine Jewelry?" Anderson wondered aloud. The name sounded pretty corny to her, and she thought that was reason alone to tear the place up. The jewelry store was hardly anything to brag about. The outside was most likely as decrepit as the inside, with its metal framing leaning down and the window's knocked out. The glass door had not been replaced, but a barred metal door had been installed over it.

They took cover on either side of the door. Anderson stretched out her senses and felt around the inside of the building. She couldn't sense anyone else's presence. Not a thing.

"I don't sense anyone, Sir." She mentioned, but they both knew that thorough searches would keep you alive longer than mere assumption. So, her partner merely nodded and tapped his helmet, and raised three gloved fingers.

She nodded, and strained her eyes on the door, making sure her weapon was locked and loaded. In the academy, you would have been a poor cadet if you didn't know proper hand signals. Hand signals were a necessity if you were to be a Judge, or at least a Judge that would live longer. Dredd signaled, his count of 3, cover him; and Anderson planned to do just that.

She watched her partner lift a well-toned leg in the air, and it came crashing against the door, causing it to bang loudly against the wall. He expertly scanned the room and walked quickly inside, Anderson close behind him. Her senses took over, and again was met with nothing. Her amber eyes noticed blood smeared along the display cases.

"Were these blood smears here before?" She asked, stretching out a gloved finger, touching it. Her eyes staring at the thick, red, sticky substance. She squished it between her finger's and it slipped easily along her gloves. "It's fresh."

He exhaled loudly, clearly frustrated and walked around the room. His heavy leather boots crunched along broken glass that littered the floor. He had to speak with Mr. Foster.

"There's a body over here behind some boxes, is this the store owner?" She asked, nudging some boxes with her foot to get a better look at the corpse.

She heard him come up behind her and looked over her shoulder. He frowned. "Yeah."

Mr. Foster's body was bloody and riddled with bullet holes. Anderson knelt next to the body and opened his mouth. "His tongue's been cut out. Apparently, someone didn't want him talking."

Dredd stood back up and rested his hands on his hips. Anderson stood back up next to him and sensed his mind at work. She watched him walk to a back room and she quickly followed.

The back room was a small, dimly lit office. It had a lop-sided metal desk, a grungy painting of an old world jewelry store, and an overly stuffed hideous green chair. Dredd walked around the desk, and he plopped into the chair, holstering his weapon. Anderson watched him rip a small lock off the desk drawer and sift through papers.

The blonde judge looked at the painting. It intrigued her. Foliage and grass grew all around it, and the sky was beautiful and blue. The frame was a gaudy gold frame, and she felt the need to touch it. She wrapped her gloves around the chipped frame, and it slipped off the wall, crashing to the floor, making her jump. Her heart was beating franticly and she sheepishly turned around looking at her superior officer. He stared at her, weapon in hand, and frowned.

Her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment under her visor, and she muttered something. She didn't even know what she said, but she quickly turned back around and mentally kicked herself. _Good decision on wearing the helmet. _She snatched up the artwork and was about to replace the damn thing on the wall, when she realized there was a safe.

"There's a safe here…" She muttered, dropping the frame back on the ground, causing the room to echo.

"Just stop touching things!" He hissed sharply, his irritation raising higher. He couldn't concentrate when she kept dropping things on the ground.

"There's a safe here." She reiterated, looking back at him.

Dredd furrowed his eyebrows and stood from the chair. He walked over to the wall and examined it. He tried jerking it open, but the door didn't budge.

"You need a code."

Dredd exhaled slowly and turned his head toward the new judge. Did she really think he didn't know that?

"Get back." He growled.

Anderson quickly did what she was told and stepped away from the wall. He pointed his weapon at the safe and ordered 'armor piercing'. The Lawgiver forced a round out and the safe door earned a large jagged hole

Dredd looked back at her, and Anderson started to feel a bit annoyed. The man had a big ego, though she was forced to admit, he had reason to be. He was The Judge Dredd.

Anderson raised her chin up and looked inside. "This is weird. You'd think it was his finest jewelry in here, or stacks of credits, but it's a…"

Dredd stood next to her and looked inside. She could feel his breath on her face, she glanced over at him, remembering what his face looked like the night before when she spoke with him. He was incredibly attractive for such a curt man, and-

"It's a lever." He said, interrupting her thoughts. She snapped out of her thoughts.

"A lever for what?"

"Let's find out…" He muttered, and Anderson groaned. This wouldn't end up well. It never did with him. She was just about to respectfully protest when she felt someone enter the store. She quickly unholstered her weapon. Dredd noticed this action, and reflexively did the same. They pressed their backs to the wall and stared at the open door to their right.

Dredd raised his weapon, and felt a chill run down his spine. The hair on the back of his neck stood, and he clenched his teeth. There was only a few times when his body ever reacted like this, and those were all occasions when he was around _her_.

"Well, well, well… look what we have here…"

Dredd groaned, and hit his helmet against the wall. Judge DeMarco. She was terribly infatuated with him ever since he'd had the unfortunate luck of meeting her.

Anderson's eyebrows raised in surprise. It was her friend she had just spoken to early that day, and she was taken aback at the hostility the Judge had toward them.

Dredd felt apprehensive every time she was around him. All she did was follow him around like a lost puppy dog, and all Dredd felt was the urge to kick it.

They heard her footsteps come closer. "Come on out, Dredd. I know you're in here. You and that blonde skank."

Anderson scrunched her face, and was about to shout something back, when she felt Dredd's gloved hand cover her mouth. He frowned and clenched his pistol grip. "How many?" He shouted.

DeMarco's ear's picked up his husky voice and her crimson lips curled into a smile, "How many what?" She purred.

"How many Judges?" He growled, removing his hand from Anderson's lips.

"Oh, more than you think, handsome. We'd all still be under the illusion of keeping our noses clean if it wasn't for that bitch Hershey…rumor is she's opening an entire investigation into every Judge in Mega City 1 tomorrow morning." DeMarco spat, twirling her Lawgiver in her hand. She stopped and fired a shot through the wall, zipping by Anderson's ear. "We gotta split the city, and soon, and I'm not leaving without my compensation."

Judge Dredd clenched his jaw, and his lip curled up. If it was one thing he hated most, it was crooked Judges. It made his blood boil. It made his heart start pounding in his chest, the adrenaline starting to course through his body. It made him kill his brother.

"RAPID FIRE!" He shouted and jumped toward the door, spraying bullets into the store. Judge DeMarco flung her body behind the display cabinets for cover and fired back.

Anderson moved next to him for cover fire, firing off multiple rounds at the display cabinet. Remaining glass shattered down on Judge DeMarco, and she continued to fire back blindly. Judge Dredd swung back behind the wall for cover, when he heard a distant roar.

"ANDERSON!" He shouted, and he wrapped an iron grip around her arm and pulled her over to him just as the back office wall exploded. Large pieces of concrete fell on top of them as they fell to the ground, and a Lawmaster roared through, lurching to a stop next to DeMarco. Debris and dust littered the ground, making it hard to see.

DeMarco sent an explosive round into the wall between her and her prey, and it too exploded, raining hot chunks of metal and sheetrock onto the two judges. She looked over at Judge Sanchez and watched as he took out his Lawgiver, giving her a smirk. He hopped off his bike and they made their way toward what was left of the office.

DeMarco pushed large slabs of sheetrock out of the way, and started painstakingly removing the debris.

Judge Sanchez shook his head, "This is going to take forever, DeMarco. We know he's got it. Just hurry up and grab the ring, so we can leave."

She whipped her head toward him and pointed her weapon at his head, "No. I was promised compensation, and that's exactly what I'm going to get…" She hissed.

Judge Sanchez huffed, and leaned on one leg, "Just hurry it up…"

She smiled and lightly slapped his face. She returned back to her tedious task, and her full red lips turned up into a smile once again, when she exposed an arm. Quicker than before, she removed the rest of the debris and painstakingly pulled Dredd free.

She looked down at his unconscious form "I told you I wasn't leaving without my compensation, handsome." She purred.

**Oh no! Dredd is in the hand's of Judge DeMarco….yes…I did that. Poor, poor Dredd. Mwuhahaha. It's been awhile and I'm sorry for he wait! But here's the next chapter! Enjoy and review, it makes me happy. : )**


	5. Ch 5 Trends

**Hello folks! Here's another chapter up! **

The young Judges eye's cracked opened, and all around her was a haze of dust, and darkness. Her lung's burned as she breathe in, and she licked her dry lips. She squinted her eyes and looked around, taking in her surroundings. It was dark, and she felt jagged rocks digging into her body, reminding her of the events that had taken place.

Anderson slowly moved her limbs, checking to see if she had been injured. _Good so far…_ She was just about to start moving the rock and debris away from her body when she sensed hostiles nearby. She froze. Her ears picked up the crunching footsteps above, and muffled voices.

She let her senses crawl away from her and toward the voices above. She could sense her two enemies, their minds corrupted and plagued with greedy thoughts. Anderson skimmed through the surface of their minds, exploring their most recent thoughts and memories. She closed her eyes and focused.

She delved into Judge Sanchez's mind. Anderson quickly flipped through all of his recent memories, most consisting of accepting bribes, and taking payments from criminals, but a few caught her eye, and she slowed down and focused in on those specific memories.

"_Where's the ring, Foster?" Judge Sanchez shouted, pushing the jeweler over, and watched as he landed hard against a display case. The glass shattered on he floor._

_Sanchez's lips formed a thin line and he snatched the jeweler up and smashed his helmet into his face, blood instantly sprouting from Foster's nose. "I know it's here you son-of-a-bitch, this is the only place it could be!"_

_Mr. Foster feebly raised his shaky hands up, and cracked a lopsided grin, his capped golden teeth glittering, "Eet ain't me skin that __**e'll**__ be goeen aftuh when ee finds out u lost dat ring." _

_Sanchez pursed his lips and collided his fist with Mr. Foster's face. "FIND IT!" He roared._

_Mr. Foster fell to the floor again, crushing boxes beneath him. He softly chuckled and stared up at the desperate Judge, "Eet's awready been found, mon."_

_The Judge was taken aback, and whipped out his Lawgiver, pointing it at Foster. "Who found it?" He asked through gritted teeth. _

_Mr. Foster laughed again, and spoke slowly with a crooked smile, "Judge Dredd."_

"_RAPID FIRE!"_

_Foster's body jerked and jumped as bullet's riddled his body, and finally slumped over. Judge Sanchez clenched his jaw, and threw his Lawgiver at the wall. He yelled, punching the wall, over and over until his rage passed, and he began to quickly pace back and forth. He was panicking, and he needed a plan. He knew he needed to get that ring back before __**he**__ found out. _

_Controlling his breathing, he picked his weapon back up from the cluttered floor, and he calmly walked out of the ransacked store. Mounting his bike, he dug in his pocket and produced a thumb-sized cellular transmitter and brought it to his lips. _

"_Dredd's got it. You know what to do. We rendezvous at the store in 1 hour."_

_A females voice emitted from the transmitter, a familiar one that Anderson could say for certain was DeMarco's._

"_He's leaving the Hall with that rookie. I can take the grav-shoot, and set it up before he even leaves the building. See you in an hour."_

_Judge Sanchez smirked, and replaced the transmitter in his pocket. _

Anderson withdrew from his memory and went over this new information in her own head. What was so special about that ring? Apparently it was worth attempting to kill two Judges and offing a grungy jeweler, but for what purpose? All she knew was Sanchez needed it. He lost someone's ring, and the end result didn't look pleasant for him.

She wriggled her fingers over a few layers of rock around her, feeling for her weapon, but it was lost in the rubble. She bit her lower lip. She needed a plan. First, she really needed to get out from beneath these stupid rocks. Without her Lawgiver, she needed a good plan. What would Dredd do in her position? _Wait, where is Dredd?_

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJJDJDJDJDJDJD

Judge Demarco's thin but strong arms heaved Dredd out of the rubble and she fell down out of breath. She looked up at her partner who stood there doing nothing. She glared up at him as she caught her breath.

"There's a lever in that safe there." Sanchez said, pointing with his eyes to the bullet riddled wall that was left standing.

"Oh by all means Sanchez, I'll get it." She growled.

Huffing, she stood back up, and throwing a dirty look at her partner, the Judge carefully made her way over to the wall where the safe was securely lodged in. She gripped the lever and yanked it back hard in irritation.

A series of clicks was heard and behind what was left of the lopsided desk, the debris-covered ground rattled, and a portion of the floor slid away, revealing a tunnel with a long metal ladder. Rocks and debris fell and disappeared into the ground as the entrance completely opened. Lights hummed to life one after the other, illuminating the small entrance all the way down. DeMarco kicked the ruins of the simple desk out of her way and looked back at Sanchez.

"How did you know that this bunker was here, Sanchez?" She asked, peering inside it suspiciously.

"That's on a need-to-know basis, and well," he chuckled, "You don't need to know." he made his way next to DeMarco with a cocky grin, and she roughly grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him into the tunnel.

Sanchez hit his helmet against the side, and he quickly grabbed a rung halfway down, catching himself before he fell to the bottom. He glared daggers at her through his visor and placed his feet securely on the rungs of the descending ladder. He heard his weapon clatter to the bottom.

"What the hell was that for!?" He shouted, starting to climb back up toward his partner.

DeMarco put her heel against his helmet as he neared the top, and she smiled, "You don't need to know. Now, hurry up and get down there. I'm dropping Dredd down, and you're going to catch him. Then, we'll get your stupid ring."

Sanchez clenched his jaw again and angrily made his way down. Once he was at the bottom, he picked up his weapon and holstered it, He looked up in time to see Judge Dredd plummet toward him, and with haste, he quickly raised his arms up, but was knocked down to the ground as Dredd landed on top of him. He felt the jagged rocks dig into his armor and he swore, roughly pushing the unconscious Judge off of him. He sat up and immediately started rummaging through the unconscious judges pockets.

He heard DeMarco make her way down the ladder and she hopped next to him, careful to not trip on the fallen debris. She grabbing Dredd's black leather boots, and kicked Sanchez to get his attention.

"How about we tie him up first before he wakes up and he gets away, genius. Grab his arms." She said, and Sanchez threw down his helmet in frustration.

"I'm getting really tired of your shit, DeMarco!" He yelled.

Demarco cocked her head, "Who asked who for help, Sanchez? Last time I checked you're the one that lost the stupid thing, so shut it, and help me move him." She seethed.

Sanchez looped his arms underneath Dredd's and they made their way down the lit narrow hall and into the third room on the right without a word. The walls were made out of brushed steel, and a metal table stood against a wall with four chairs. Large ilumma-lights blazed above them as they dropped him on the grated floor near the table. Sanchez snatched a metal chair, and dragged it to the middle of the room, opposite of the table. Once they finished the tedious task of tying the Judge to the chair, and bolting the chair to the grated floor, Sanchez immediately, if not obsessively, dropped down to his knees, and started to rummage through Dredd's pockets again.

His gloved fingers opened a pouch on Dredd's belt and his eyes lit up as he saw the container holding the ring. "Finally…" He whispered. Popping the clear container open, he snatched up the ring and threw the offending container to the side and stood, holding the ring in between his fingers.

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJD JDJDJ

Anderson pushed the last of the large sheet rock off of her, and grunted as she crawled from out of the debris. She quickly looked around, the coast was clear. Her lawgiver was still missing in the rubble, but there was nothing she could do for that now. She took her helmet off and shook her short hair. Sweat made strands of blonde hair stick to her face, and she wiped her brow with her arm. She chucked her helmet to the side. She needed her abilities more than a helmet, if she couldn't find her weapon. _I really hope this isn't a trend I'm making… _

She looked around again and then closed her eyes trying to feel where her partner was. She would have sensed him, even if he were incapacitated, she'd have known if he was still buried here. The room was deserted. She could still feel that Dredd was nearby, but where could they have taken him and still be so close? She had heard a rattling and rumbling sound come from behind her, so she decided to start there first.

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJD JDJDJ

Judge Dredd's eyes snapped open when he felt a fist connect to his unprotected face. He looked up to see a bleary Judge in front of him, and another sitting casually on a table opposite him. He blinked a couple times before his vision came into focus.

"I hope you're done taking your nap, Dredd." Sanchez spat, kicking Dredd's helmet to the corner of the room.

Dredd's head hung down, and his eyes caught a glint from something in the Judges gloved hand. He clenched his jaw and looked up at him, eyebrow raised, "As a matter of fact-"

Sanchez's fist collided with his face again causing Dredd's head to whip back, and hang back down. He exhaled heavily and spit the blood that accumulated in his mouth, on the grated floor. He watched it seep down, and drop to the floor beneath. He noticed the his steel chair bolted to the floor, and he sighed. _This is going to be a long night. _He raised his head and frowned his iconic frown.

"Tell me what you know." Sanchez demanded, standing in front of his captive.

Dredd scoffed, "That you're a piss poor excuse for a Judge."

He needed to buy time. When Judge Dredd needed to buy time, it was usually a painful affair. He had to stick with what he did best in the way of conversation, which was usually blunt comments, or degrading others lack of commitment to the law. He wasn't much of a conversationalist, so this is usually where he got himself into trouble.

Dredd also knew Anderson was somewhere around here, if he could just stall long enough for her to find him, things would be grand. _I hope this isn't starting to become a trend.._.This would be the second time the junior Judge saved him when he was in a serious bind.

Sanchez smiled, "Think you're a comedian, huh? You won't be laughing for very long when you realize how seriously you screwed up." He showed Dredd the root of his problems for the last 10 hours, and it shined in the light.

"This ring holds the fate of every citizen here in Mega City 1. When I return this, I'm walking out of this shit hole a rich man."

"You're betraying the entire city for your personal gain?"

Sanchez barked with laughter, "Yes, Dredd. There are things in this world other than the 'law'. The city expects us to fight a war were never going to win. Most Judges end up dying on the streets eventually. It's pitiful." Sanchez placed the ring safely in his belt pouch and, and crossed his arms. "Now, tell me all you know about this ring?"

Dredd stared at him stonily, "What makes you think I'm going to tell you?"

"Because, if you don't tell me, I'm going to kill you." He stated plainly.

DeMarco's eye's flashed dangerously and she jumped off the table, but Sanchez put his hand up, stopping her. She swatted his hand away, and walked around her partner toward her prize, smiling at him.

"My favorite lawman, Judge Dredd." She purred. Her leather boots echoed each time she placed a boot down on the grated floor.

Dredd's eyes followed her as she slowly circled the chair. She bent down behind him and placed her gloved hands on his shoulders, craning her neck around to see his face. "Sorry about your apartment, handsome. Had to be done."

Dredd remained silent. His apartment meant nothing to him. There was nothing of real value, except Maria, his cleaning lady, and his stupid robot, Walter. Thankfully he knew they were out of the apartment when the explosion happened.

Judge Sanchez walked toward Dredd and cracked his knuckles, which didn't intimidate him in the least. "If you're not gonna tell me, I might as well make your life miserable." Sanchez said casually, punching Dredd's stomach.

The wind was rudely knocked out of him, but he refused to make a sound. He got his breathing under control, and ignored the pain from his broken ribs. Apparently, this wasn't his week. He looked back up at Sanchez. Dredd wiggled his bound wrists hoping to loosen them, but his heart sank when he realized it was nano-rope. An unbreakable rope made out of thousands of nano-threads. It had a locking mechanism, that could only be unlocked by whoever held a certain small key card. His dark eyes gave Sanchez a once over for his ticket out of here, but it wasn't visible.

DeMarco whipped around facing him, pushing Sanchez out of her way, and knelt down on the floor, casually resting her arms on his thighs. "Listen up handsome. We hear that Hershey is opening up a department wide investigation due to that Peach Trees incident with those four corrupt Judges. We want to know if that's true, when exactly she's going to be doing it, and how."

"What makes you think I know?" He growled, drilling holes in her head with his glare. He looked her up and down for the key, but sadly found nothing.

"Let's call it intuition. I'll take that as a yes, though. When and how?" She asked, leaning closer to him.

Dredd frowned and said nothing. She slid her hands up to his shoulders and straddled his strong thighs. Lacing her fingers around his neck, she smiled as she saw him tense. "Let's try a different approach then. I'll tell you a secret…" She whispered in his ear, "If you tell me a secret."

He exhaled forcefully. _What are we five? _Judge Dredd was really getting to the point that he wished Anderson would just bust through the metal door already, zap their brains with her psychic powers and call it a day, but it seemed that may not happen.

Sanchez rolled his eyes, "I'll be in the other room Demarco, when you decide to actually interrogate him…"

DeMarco's dark eyes followed her partner as he left, and the door shut closed. She quickly slipped off of Dredd's lap and hurried to the door, looking through the small window located at the top of the door. She ran back to Dredd and slipped a knife out of her boot. Kneeling down, she started to untwist the screws that bolted down the chair to the grated floor.

Dredd was thoroughly confused now, as he watched DeMarco loosening his chair. She pushed the chair, tipping him to the side slightly, and he slammed back down to the ground. She seemed satisfied with her work

"We don't have much time, and I have less time to explain everything that's going on. This is real big Dredd. Bigger than I ever imagined. You need to get that ring back from Sanchez, before you leave this bunker." She whispered, looking back toward the door.

Dredd glanced at the door, the back at her. "Who's ring s it?"

DeMarco slipped the knife back in her boot. "I haven't been able to figure that out yet. He won't tell me. There's a small compartment in the band, it holds a vial or a chip of some sort. He's been real close-lipped about it."

She stood quickly and looked at him, her stomach starting to knot. "Dredd, Hershey told me to stick with Sanchez when she viewed the store's surveillance. He's a part of this, I just don't know what role he plays. You need to get that ring somewhere safe."

"That's a lousy apology." He muttered, pulling at the nano-rope, but it was useless.

"Since when did I apologize? You _would_ be good compensation." She winked.

Dredd looked back at the door, "Where's the key to this rope?"

JDJDJDJJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDDJDJDJDJDJDJD JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJD

Anderson silently stepped off of the ladder and crushed herself against the wall when she saw someone walk out of a room and into the hallway. She watched as Judge Sanchez disappeared out of sight into a different room.

She was rather glad she had remembered the lever that they found in the safe previously. If she hadn't remembered Dredd showing her up about the code, she'd probably still be in the store looking for her partner. She wiped her dirty forehead and crept down the hallway unarmed. Her amber eyes darted every which way, ready to react if she saw any movement.

She made it to the door the Judge disappeared in and watched the door handle start to move. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked up. Multiple pipes crossed the ceiling from light fixtures and vents, and she swiftly ran up the wall next to her and jumped as high as she could, quickly grabbing a hold of the closest pipe. She dragged herself up on the bar, and clung to it tightly. The bar was starting to crunch underneath her weight, and she prayed it would hold. The electricity in the bunker unit wavered, and Anderson held her breath until it stabilized. She looked back down as Judge Sanchez entered the hallway once again and walked a few feet back into the room he had previously been in. She sighed aloud, _Dredd owes me big time._

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJJDJDJJDJDJDJDJDJDJD JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJD

DeMarco looked back as the door opened and she felt a piercing white pain shoot through her chest, and fell on the ground face first. She struggled to breathe, but blood quickly filled her airway. Heavy boots echoed on the grate toward her and two more rounds were placed in her back. Sanchez grinned and blew the smoke away from his Lawgiver. "Now that I have the ring, You've been rendered useless."

Dredd's face reddened in rage, his jugular vein pulsating, "I'm going to kill you."

Sanchez grabbed a handful of Dredd's thick black hair and yanked his head up. "Try it." He chuckled, and roughly let go.

Turning his back on his captive, Dredd took advantage of the distraction and wrapped his right leg around Sanchez's ankle, and brought his left boot crashing into the side of his kneecap, earning a loud pop. He then reared his chair back, now that it was unbolted, and kicked his legs out as hard as he could, throwing Sanchez forward into the table.

Sanchez screamed in pain and struggled to get up. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and he looked back, furiously. "YOU'RE DEAD, DREDD!" He shouted and tackled Dredd and his chair to the ground, causing his lawgiver to slide across the floor.

The door to the room burst open, hanging lopsided on its hinges as Anderson kicked it in. She quickly grabbed the closest weapon at her disposal and wrapped her gloved fingers around a metal chair and smashed it across the back of Sanchez's exposed head.

"Check DeMarco!" Dredd shouted at Anderson, as he looped his strong legs around Sanchez's throat. He squeezed as hard as he could, slowly crushing the Judges trachea. Sanchez clawed blindly at Dredd, as he felt his throat collapsing.

Anderson hurried over to her, a bit confused. She pressed two fingers to her neck, and waited a few seconds. "Nothing."

She sensed Dredd's anger rise as she spoke, but wasn't really sure why. Wasn't she the one that was trying to kill them? She quickly moved over to where Dredd lay, tied to the chair, still choking the life out of the dead Judge.

"He's dead." She said, dragging the judges dead body away from him. She grabbed the chair that still held her partner captive, and stood him up.

"Get the key." He growled. He hadn't planned on killing Sanchez. He wanted to know who owned the ring, but when he saw him put three bullet holes in Judge DeMarco, that quickly changed. Now who was he supposed to gain information from? Dredd kicked himself mentally. He let his emotions cloud his judgment. Judge DeMarco wasn't a bad Judge, merely undercover trying to do the same thing he was. Figure this damn ring out.

Anderson looked at the rope that tied him to the chair. _Ugh…nano-rope._

She sifted through Sanchez's pockets first and her fingers wrapped around a small ring. She quickly put it in her pocket to keep safe, and continued to search for the key card. Her irritation level rose as she realized just how many pockets they had on, and it took her awhile to finally go through them all. The very last pocket she checked, she withdrew the card.

At last, Dredd saw her smile in triumph as she finally found it. Standing up, she quickly made her way behind her superior officer, and placed the card into the locking mechanism. Just as she was about to secure the card into the receiver for it to read, the room suddenly shook, and a large noise exploded from the hallway. She watched in horror as the card slipped from the locking mechanism and fell through the grated floor.

Her eyes were wide, and her hands began to sweat underneath her gloves. _This can't be happening! _She quickly dropped to the floor, and pulled her gloves off. She wiggled a finger into the grate, but the key was just out of her reach.

Dredd was trying to figure out what exploded, when her curse echoed in his ears, and realized the nano-rope was still locked. "Tell me you didn't drop it."

She was about to reply when she saw water start to flow through the bottom of the grated floor, and watched as the carefree chip started to float away. She opened her mouth to say something when another pipe popped in the hallway, and water gushed out at high pressure, quickly filling up the floor, and water started to rise above the grate slowly but surely.

Dredd stared down at the floor. "Great…"

**Oh No! butterfingers! Heeey, it happens to even the best, and always at the worst times! Love to hear reviews, I so love and cherish each and every one of them! : D Hope you enjoyed! Nother chapter comin up!**


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